In reply to a letter of October 28, 1895, to Cardinal Gibbons, asking if the church claimed the change of the Sabbath as her mark, C. F. Thomas, chancellor of the cardinal, wrote the following: “Of course the Catholic church claims that the change was her act. . . . And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.
“Sunday is our mark of authority. . . . The church is above the Bible, and this transference of sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” –The Catholic Record, London, Ontario, September 1, 1923
Here is an explanation from the pen of inspiration that clearly reveals what it means to accept the mark of the beast: “But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshipping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—‘the mark of the beast.’ And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive ‘the mark of the beast.’” –The Great Controversy, p. 449
“The change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of the authority of the Romish church. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false sabbath in the place of the true, are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded. The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath, which has been accepted by the world in the place of the day of God’s appointment.
“No one has yet received the mark of the beast. . . . But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast.” –Evangelism, pp. 234–235
The great issue that will divide this world will be the commandments of God vs. the commandments of men. His people will not receive the mark of the beast, because they will be loyal to all the commandments, including true Sabbath worship. We are swiftly approaching the final contest that will decide our destiny.
Henry Dering